How Bad Could It Be
by suburbantimewaster
Summary: Katrina Johnson is an aspiring writer who works at a diner to make ends meet. When her childhood sweetheart, The Once-ler, comes to town and sells his Thneed, things actually start to look better. He supports her with his dream while she works on hers. How bad could it be? If only Kat knew what she was getting into.
1. Prologue

Beware the Nice Ones

Prologue

A/N: I'm sure many of you are familiar with this story and the history I have with deleting and re-publishing it. This story actually has an unpleasant history and it unleashes negative emotions from me. When I first posted it, I had a disagreement with a reader of mine due to having different views with said reader. It ended with us both going our separate ways and I didn't take it well. Just so you know, the Pipsqueak in Theresa's time is not the same Pipsqueak from the movie, it's his grandson. I also think baby Bar-ba-loots are called puppies like baby skunks are called kittens.

* * *

Ten years passed since Thneedville planted the very last Truffula seed. Ted Wiggins was getting his Phd in business and Audrey was in graduate school, studying to be an environmental lawyer. Once-ler still lived in his Lerkim as the self-appointed caretaker of Truffula forest and occasionally visited Thneedville. Their hatred towards him was diminishing but the people felt that he still had to make up for his past deeds. The animals moved back in and the Lorax continued to act as the voice of the trees and guardian of the forest.

Theresa Williams laid stomach side on the grass, drawing the Truffula trees and the little bar-ba-loot playing with his friends in her sketchpad while taking in the scent of butterfly milk. Theresa brushed her golden blonde hair out of her ocean blue eyes as the bar-ba-loot came to her.

"Hey, Pipsqueak," she said, using the sweet voice she reserved for animals and showing him her sketch. "You like it?'

Pipsqueak made a noise of approval.

"You wanna see the rest, little guy?" she asked smiling.

Theresa put her drawing utensils in her backpack and her sketchbook on the ground, flipping the pages and explaining each drawing to Pipsqueak. Then she turned her head to make sure no one was nearby and removed a pack of cigarettes from her pocket.

"Don't tell Grandpa, or the Lorax," she whispered to him and then lit the cigarette in her mouth, inhaling smoke into her lungs.

Then she got to her fanart, something that needed far more explaining for Pipsqueak than her forest drawings.

"And last but not least, the guardian of nature herself, Mothra and her two fairy companions," Theresa said to Pipsqeauk.

"I thought I was the guardian of nature," a scratchy annoying voice said.

Recognizing that voice as the Lorax, Theresa quickly got to her feet, put her cigarette out and stomped on it as hard as she could.

"Mothra's the guardian in the fictional Godzilla universe and you're the guardian in real life," Theresa hastily explained, returning to her normal voice.

"Yeah, I've heard of Mothra, and I already saw you smoking so don't bother hiding it," The Lorax said, crossing his arms and leaning on a tree trunk.

Theresa dragged her foot with the cigarette under it back and nervously laughed.

"I have no idea what you're talking about," Theresa said.

Pipsqueak tickled Theresa's leg causing her to laugh and lift it up, revealing the cigarette she was trying to hide. Then the puppy grabbed the cigarette and gave it to the Lorax.

"How did that get there?" Theresa said with feigned innocence while glaring at the puppy.

"River, you're better than this," The Lorax said while throwing the cigarette into the river.

"Look, just don't tell Grandpa, okay?" Theresa pleaded. "He already thinks I'm enough of a screw up as it is."

"Beanpole doesn't think you're a screw up," The Lorax reassured her. "He thinks, just like I do, that you've got a lot of promise and you're not living up to it, and your parents are no help with that."

The Lorax was right about that. Theresa's parents weren't cruel but they did believe that rules and discipline were destructive to a child's growth. Therefore, they usually left Theresa to do what she wanted while they went off doing their own thing. Once-ler, on the other hand, actually took an interest in her life. She could tell her parents that she was eloping with the leader of a biker gang and carrying his baby and their only response would be, "okay, Sweetie." If she told the same to Once-ler, he would have a heart attack.

"Please, don't tell him," Theresa continued pleading. "Grandpa's got enough to worry about, he doesn't need me making things worse."

"All right, I won't tell Beanpole," The Lorax reassured. "That reminds me, Beanpole sent me to get you."

"What does he want?" Theresa asked.

"He wants to get breakfast started and needs your help."

Theresa made her way to Once-ler's Lerkim, thankful that he turned off the traps during the day, especially when she or Ted stayed there. On the outside, the place looked like a three story dump with the house on the very top. On the inside, it was little more than a long line of stairs connected to the top floor, which was just a tiny room with a kitchen sink, a refrigerator, a bed and a dining room table. The walls were decorated with pictures of Theresa, her parents (Rose and Darren, the latter of which Theresa got her straight golden blonde hair and oval shaped face from), her grandmother (who died before Theresa was born and, like Rose and Theresa, had almond shaped ocean blue eyes. Like Rose, she also had a heart-shaped face), Helen Wiggins and her son, Ted, and the Once-ler when he was young (where Rose got her black hair and freckles from, while Theresa only inherited the freckles). The Once-ler also had a few books written by her grandmother, Katrina Johnson. When Theresa started staying there, Once-ler installed a guest bedroom on the second floor with a painting easel, a TV and a bed. It wasn't exactly a five-star hotel but it was better than being at her house when her parents went insane, which was often. Ted used it when he stayed over which, thankfully, was never at the same time as Theresa. Audrey would sometimes visit but she never stayed longer than a couple of hours.

Theresa went to the top floor to see Once-ler turning on the stove and putting pancake batter in the frying pan with his sleeves rolled up. She took a handful of marshmallows from the glass table and stuffed them in her mouth when Once-ler wasn't looking, enjoying the soft texture and sweet sugary taste of one of her two favorite foods in the entire world.

"Theresa, good timing," Once-ler told her, not looking up from the sizzling pancakes. "I need to inspect the security systems and I was hoping that you'd look after the pancakes while I was gone."

Theresa swallowed the marshmallows and laughed.

"Grandpa, you already inspected it yesterday morning," she said. "I don't think your equipment's going to break that fast."

"Forgive me if I don't want psychopaths sneaking in here at night," he said sarcastically, rolling down his sleeves, removing his coat from a nearby chair and putting it on. "Remember to -,"

"Flip the pancakes when they boil, I know," she said, crossing her arms and rolling her eyes.

"Actually, I was going to tell you to take your jacket off so you don't accidentally burn yourself," Once-ler said firmly while putting his gloves on and leaving the Lerkim.

"Oh, right," Theresa responded while taking her red denim jacket off (it used to be leather but that pissed off the Lorax) and putting it around a chair, leaving her in a black short sleeved shirt and black skinny jeans that accentuated her soft curvy pear shaped figure and black tennis shoes to finish the look off. She usually dressed in a tiny black tube top (something she could pull off with her small breasts), black mini-skirt and knee-high boots but Once-ler made it clear that, while her parents were okay with it, he wouldn't have his 15-year-old granddaughter dressing like a hooker and there was no way in hell she would dress like a nun.

The fermented smell of buttermilk combined with the sweet smell of chocolate, Theresa's other favorite food, filled every inch of the Lerkim. Theresa kept her eye on the pancake batter and confirmed that Once-ler put chocolate chips in it. Either he was really happy to have her visit, or he had something he really needed to talk to her about. Theresa flipped the boiling pancake, hoping it wasn't the latter. That's when the door creaked open.

"I'll take over from here," Once-ler said, taking his gloves and coat off.

Theresa moved away from the stove as Once-ler rolled up his sleeves and continued cooking the pancakes.

"An art fair's coming to Thneedville," Once-ler told her.

"Yeah, I heard about that," Theresa said, checking her fingernails for imperfections.

"The Lorax tells me that you've been drawing the forest in your spare time," Once-ler continued while putting the pancake on one of the nearby plates. "And that fair's taking submissions, so I thought you could set up a booth."

Theresa got her purse out of her backpack and took her filer from it.

"Thanks for the suggestion, Grandpa, but I'm not sure if I really have the time," Theresa said while filing her nails.

"After your third suspension, you have all the time in the world," Once-ler said, flipping the pancake.

Theresa looked up from her nails.

"Did Rose and Darren tell you about that?" Theresa asked.

"Yes," Once-ler said, putting another pancake on a plate. "They said you were caught skipping class to smoke in the alleyway. They also told me that you were caught shoplifting at the drug store."

So that's why the Lorax was so quick to agree to not telling Once-ler about the smoking.

"Surprise Rose and Darren know that much about me," Theresa said, turning her attention back to her nails.

"They know more about what goes on in your life than you think," Once-ler said and added in a harsh whisper. "They just won't do anything about it."

"Look, I don't know what all Rose and Darren told you, but I only took one cheap bottle of perfume. How bad could I be?" Theresa said, putting her filer back and pulling up a chair to sit in.

"That's how it starts," Once-ler said, setting both plates with five pancakes on the table. "You tell yourself that you're only skipping a few classes and you're only stealing things no one cares about, it can't be that bad. Then you move up to expulsion and armed robbery and, before you know it, you find yourself sentenced to life in a jail cell."

"Grandpa, I don't plan on committing armed robbery any time soon," Theresa said, rolling her eyes.

"Then what are your plans?" Once-ler asked, taking a bite of his pancakes.

Theresa said nothing.

"I asked you what your plans are," Once-ler repeated firmly.

"I don't have any plans, so I didn't say anything," Theresa explained, taking a bite of the pancakes and getting lost in the sweet taste of buttermilk and melted chocolate. "What does it matter? I'm only 15."

"Because, right now, I only see three options available for you in the future," Once-ler said while moving his left arm in dramatic gestures. "Career criminal, street walker and professional artist. Only the last one will keep you from spending your life in a prison cell."

"Not if I become an art counterfeiting kingpin," Theresa said nonchalantly.

"Is that supposed to be funny?" Once-ler said, his voice getting harsher.

"I just think you're making a big deal out of nothing," Theresa said, giving an exasperated sigh. "Also, there's no guarantee that the first two would send me to a jail cell. Maybe I'll be a hit man for the mob, or a high-class call girl that's getting a doctor's degree."

"So your future is one big joke to you," Once-ler said, the anger seething in his voice.

"Don't you think you're overreacting?" Theresa asked. "So I break a few rules, it doesn't mean I'm doomed."

"You will be if you keep behaving like this," Once-ler told her.

"Well, if you think I'm such a screw up, you can always rely on Ted," Theresa said, eyes narrowing and bitterness seeping through her voice as she thought of her cousin, the "hero" of Thneedville.

"You're missing the point," Once-ler told her.

"Okay, what's the point?"

"My point is that you can't live your life taking whatever you want and doing whatever you feel like," Once-ler said.

Theresa scoffed.

"That's rich, coming from a guy who caused ecological genocide to fill his own greedy pockets," Theresa stated.

Once-ler sprang from his seat and practically slammed his hands on the table.

"What was that?!" he practically screamed at her.

"You heard me; you have no right lecturing me on my decisions when you've done things that even a delinquent like me isn't capable of!" Theresa said, standing her ground.

Before Once-ler could say another word, he grabbed his left arm and his breathing got more erratic.

"Grandpa!" Theresa said, worry replacing hostility in her voice and she shot up from her seat.

Theresa got her phone from her purse and quickly dialed 911.

"911, what is your emergency?" the operator said.

"You've got to send someone here quick! My grandpa's in trouble!" Theresa yelled into the phone.

"Ma'am, calm down," the operator told her. "Where are you?"

"I'm in the Once-ler's Lerkim outside Thneedville on the top floor," Theresa said, taking a few deep breaths while praying that she wasn't talking to anyone who hated Once-ler.

"Ma'am, we'll send an ambulance truck straight to your location. Try to keep your grandfather calm until help arrives," the operator instructed.

"Okay, thank you."

Theresa hung up and ran to Once-ler's side.

"They'll be here soon, Grandpa, just try to relax," Theresa said, walking her grandfather to his bed and fighting back tears.

"Theresa, look at me," Once-ler said through deep breaths.

Theresa looked into Once-ler's eyes.

"Grandpa, I'm sorry!" Theresa said, unable to hold back the streams of tears any longer. "I didn't mean what I said, I was just angry! Please don't die!"

Whether Once-ler heard Theresa she would never know. He passed out right while she was talking. Theresa heard the door bust open and turned around to see the Lorax with Pipsqueak right behind him.

"River, what happened here?!" The Lorax exclaimed, seeing Once-ler lying on the bed and Theresa standing nearby bawling.

Pipsqueak jumped on the bed, nudging Once-ler's head and slapping his face when he wouldn't budge.

"I-i-it's Grandpa, w-we were arguing and h-he-," Theresa tried to say between her tears.

The Lorax put two fingers on Once-ler's neck.

"He's barely got a pulse. Did you call the ambulance?" The Lorax asked.

Theresa nodded her head. At that moment, she heard a siren wail and two paramedics came in with a stretcher. They put the Once-ler on it and took him to the ambulance truck. All Theresa could do was pray that he was going to be all right.

* * *

A/N: So, what did you think? No, Theresa's not religious. She's just in a state where she's worried beyond all hell and it's the only thing she can do. I'd appreciate any feedback I can get because I'd like to know that, despite my terrible history in The Lorax fandom that I already explained in the previous author's note, I still have a place in it.


	2. Chapter 1

How Bad Could It Be Chapter 1

A/N: I'd like to thank queen-of-the-arts for her review. Anyway, I'm back with the next chapter. I'm also focusing my energy more on Batman, so don't expect any fast updates on this story.

* * *

In Greenville, there was a small place called Dan's Diner where Katrina Johnson worked. The exterior of it was little more than a white wall with a couple of windows and two joined glass doors surrounded by wooden frames. The interior was that of a typical greasy spoon. There were checkered patterned floors and walls, booths with red comfortable chairs, wooden tables with wooden chairs and a bar with wooden stools. The place smelled of fried food and everyone talked all at once. Two joined metal doors led to the kitchen while two separate wooden doors led to the restroom, one for boys and the other for girls.

Kat walked to a booth with a tray in hand that held a white cup of coffee. When she got there, a woman bumped into her and caused her to drop the tray, spilling hot coffee all over the customer's pants.

"Ow!" the customer shrieked.

"Ma'am, I am so sorry," Kat said, hoping she was an understanding customer.

"How dare you serve coffee this hot!" the woman practically screamed.

Just as Kat thought, she had no such luck.

"Ma'am, the coffee's supposed to be hot," Kat explained, clutching the tray in her hands as tightly as she could.

"That's no excuse!" the woman exclaimed, getting up from the booth.

"Why don't I get you a towel and another cup of coffee?" Kat suggested, trying to disguise the impatience in her voice.

"You'll be hearing from my lawyer!" the woman shrieked as she exited the diner.

Kat was fuming to the point that she practically slammed the tray on the table. To make a bad situation worse, her boss had to show up.

"Kitty, what was that?" Dan asked.

Kat held back her disgust over that nickname.

"Sir, it was an accident. I just-," Katrina tried to explain.

"-Cost this diner a lot of money," Dan finished for her with that same condescending look. "Now, what did I tell you about pissing off paying customers?"

"If it costs the diner money it will come out of my paycheck."

"Exactly, now get back to work," Dan said.

Kat grabbed the tray and went to the kitchen. She practically threw the white cup in the sink and then placed the tray on the rack. That's when her best friend, Maria Gonzalez, walked in.

"Careful, Kat, you don't want to break another dish," Maria said, noticing the fuming look on Kat's face. "Otherwise Dan will make you pay for it."

"Don't remind me."

"We'll go to the ladies room and you can tell me all about it," Maria told her.

The restroom had the same wall and floor decoration as the diner, black and white checkered spots all over. It had the typical stalls with toilets inside, white sinks, a brown paper towel dispenser and a huge mirror over the sink. As soon as they got there, Kat told her everything.

"Once again, Dan acted like an asshole," Maria said while looking in the huge mirror and fixing her creamy rose blush. "Does that really shock you?"

"No, but preparing for it doesn't make me want to rip his head off any less," Kat remarked, getting her hairbrush out of her purse.

"You and everyone else who works under him," Maria said, putting her blush in her purse and retrieving her brown eye shadow.

"I know, I have it just as bad as everyone else who works here and I don't deserve any special sympathy," Kat said while pulling on her brush with full force trying to yank the tangles out of her hair. "I swear, Maria, you're lucky to have your Acupuncturist license,"

"I wouldn't call it luck," Maria said, fixing some flaws in her already applied eye shadow. "Honey, you have to gently brush the tangles out to reduce split ends."

"What do you mean?" Kat asked, finally getting the tangle out.

"I mean that, right now, all I've got is an empty storage house," Maria said, putting her eye shadow in her purse and retrieving her eye liner. "I still need furniture, an interior designer and I have to get a decent number of clients. I also have to pay off my debt and, let's not forget, that many people don't trust acupuncture, and start brushing from the bottom. That also reduces split ends."

"At least your business is going somewhere," Kat said, continuing to brush from the top. "I've been writing story after story and all I get is rejection letter after rejection letter and your way takes too long."

"Keep trying, you'll get published soon," Maria assured Kat, checking to make sure her soft smokey eye look was perfected in the mirror. "You're the one always complaining about her split ends, I just thought that you could use the advice."

Kat acknowledged Maria's point and started brushing her hair from the ends and working her way up, gently combing out the tangles.

"You know what we need? A night on the town," Maria suggested with a sneaky smile, noticing that her crimson red lipstick was fading.

Kat paused.

"What?"

"Come on, two hot girls patrolling the city for guys. It'll be fun!" Maria exclaimed, fixing her lipstick.

"You mean one hot girl and her frumpy sidekick," Kat remarked.

It wasn't that Kat didn't want to go clubbing, it was just that she was afraid to go with Maria. Kat was attractive in her own right with thick shoulder-length chocolate brown hair, almond shaped ocean blue eyes, heart-shaped face, a milky white complexion and stood at 5'7''. If she took care of herself, she could be a knockout. Unfortunately, her face was pudgy, her eyebrows were bushy, her body-type might have been an hourglass figure with big breasts, but she was a little chubby and her tight yellow mini-skirted waitress uniform was not helping matters. It didn't help that there was cellulite in her thighs and her brown hair showed more than a few split-ends. She told herself that, with her writing and her full-time job, she didn't have time to take care of herself. Yet that didn't seem to stop Maria. With thick straight waist-length raven black hair, almond shaped dark chocolate brown eyes, oval-shaped face and a light chocolate complexion, she was beautiful. Add her perfectly toned hourglass figure with big breasts, amazingly toned legs and the fact that she was almost six feet tall, she was an absolute knockout. Next to her, Katrina looked like a frump.

"Not this again," Maria said with an exasperated sigh. "Kat, you're gorgeous. You just need confidence."

"Easy for you to say, you're a beauty queen," Kat said, continuing to brush the tangles out of her hair.

"Word of advice, if you keep comparing yourself to others, you'll never reach your full potential," Maria remarked, putting her lipstick in her purse and retrieving her hairbrush. "So, we'll just take a walk around and talk to regular people until you can work yourself up to hot guys."

"You really think that will work?" Kat asked, eyeing her friend doubtfully.

"Sure, you're cute and you've got a sexy attitude, you just need to break out of your shell," Maria told her with a reassuring smile, slowly brushing tangles out of her hair.

"Thanks, now I have one other worry," Kat said, finally getting the very last tangle out of her hair. "When I do go clubbing, how will I know if I'm not picking up anyone dangerous?"

Maria laughed.

"Sweetie, you don't pick up strangers. You date them for a while and then have sex," Maria explained.

"Truly words to live by," Kat joked, putting her hair brush back in her purse.

She and Maria laughed when Dan came in.

"You do realize this is the girls bathroom," Maria told him, trying her best to disguise the contempt she held for him in her voice.

"And you two realize that you're still on the clock," Dan said while admiring his messy yellow blonde hair, sky blue eyes, rugged face and buff physique in the mirror. "Time is money, so get cracking ladies."

Kat and Maria grabbed their notepads and went back to work. Out of the corner of her eye, Kat saw a man sitting alone and reading the menu. Kat couldn't place it, but something about this man seemed so familiar. Then she remembered the barbecue at her parents' house before moving to Greenville. She remembered a little boy she met who asked her if she was an angel. She remembered designing model houses with him about their future married life. She remembered planning to have eight kids with him and now, here he was, in the very diner she worked at. Of course, she hadn't seen that boy since she was a kid. There was always a possibility that the man in the booth might not be him. She clutched her notepad to her chest, feeling her heart racing as she walked to the booth.

"Hello, sir, may I take your order?" she asked.

"Actually, I haven't decided yet," he said turning to her. "Could you-,"

He looked up from his menu and his face lit up in recognition.

"Kat?!" he exclaimed, dropping the menu and practically shooting up from his seat.

"Yeah," she said smiling and looking up from her notepad, finding herself at eye level with his chest. "Is that you, Once-ler?!"

"Yeah," Once-ler put his hands on hers and grinned from ear to ear. "I don't believe this, what have you been up to!"

Kat's face turned a bright red as she felt how warm Once-ler's hands were on her own. His hands didn't have a perfect smoothness but that was to be expected, considering how much work his family made him do. Kat tilted her head up and gazed into Once-ler's round sky blue eyes covered by his thick jet black hair and felt an urge to drop her pencil and notepad on the floor, brush his hair back with her fingers and take him right there in the diner, not caring who was watching. The sound of Dan's voice interrupted her daydream.

"Kitty, stop fraternizing with the customers and get back to work!"

Once-ler quickly removed his hands from hers and went back to his booth, blushing like mad. Kat sighed exasperatedly and wondered if her boss had eyes in the back of his head.

"Yes, sir!" Then she turned back to Once-ler. "While you're busy ordering, do you mind if I replace the sugar packets?"

She said the last thing with a wink.

"Not at all," he said practically hiding his face in the menu, "Sorry about that, I was just so happy to see you."

Kat continued to serve customers while making excuses to see Once-ler.

"As you can see, I now work minimum wage at a greasy spoon and I write in my spare time," Kat told him while replacing the sugar packets. "What about you?"

"I'm going to invent a revolutionary product that will change the world!" Once-ler said gleefully, his eyes wide with hope and smiling as big as humanly possible. "I'll take the hot chocolate with extra marshmallows."

"Coming right up," Kat said, writing that on her pad. Then she took it to the short order chef on duty.

"Sir, do you need your syrup containers replaced?" Kat asked on her next visit and added the next thing in an informal tone. "An inventor? I thought you wanted to be a rock star."

"Yes, I do," Once-ler said with a serious look on his face, trying to be nonchalant and failing miserably. He added the next thing with more excitement in his voice. "I'm surprised you're writing. I thought you wanted to be an actress."

Kat leaned forward and grabbed the case of syrup containers, noticing the dreamy look in Once-ler's eyes with a huge grin on his face.

"Is there anything else you'd like?" Kat asked.

"Milk," Once-ler replied stupidly.

Kat blinked and turned her attention to Once-ler

"What?" she asked.

"Buttermilk!" Once-ler quickly yelled, blushing like mad. "As in buttermilk pancakes!"

Kat laughed as she wrote Once-ler's order down.

"Okay, you don't have to yell," she said.

Once-ler breathed a sigh of relief as Kat went to have the syrup containers replaced just as Maria was getting some orders.

"Hey Kat, I've got a big order to fill. Mind helping me while you're serving the bard?" Maria asked, putting a plate with a cheeseburger and french fries on the tray.

"The bard?" Kat asked, giving Once-ler's order to the short order chef who immediately went to the kitchen.

"The tall guy with the guitar and fedora that you've been flirting with."

"Oh, right," Kat said blushing. "And I wouldn't call it flirting."

"Whatever you're doing, you both seem really into it," Maria said as she put a plate of sausages, hash browns and eggs over easy on the tray.

"You must mean Once-ler," Kat said.

Maria smiled mischievously.

"Oh, so you know the bard," Maria said. "The plot thickens."

Kat blushed.

"It's not what you think!"

"Okay, then what is it?" Maria asked, placing chocolate chip waffles on the tray.

"It's been a while since we've last seen each other so we really want to catch up," Kat said, placing chicken fried steak on the tray. "Serving a big family?"

"I can only imagine what sort of 'catching up' he has in mind," Maria said snickering. "No, just one guy and this is only the first batch."

"What are you talking about?" Kat said, eyes widening when she looked at all the food on the tray. "He keeps eating like this, he's going to end up in the Emergency Room."

"I'm talking about the bard's little slip," Maria said, adding a plate of biscuits to the tray. "He wants to start dieting tomorrow and this is his last hurrah."

"What slip?" Kat asked, placing the tray on the cart with wheels. "This is one hell of a hurrah. I'm tempted to eat some of this food myself."

Maria laughed.

"Honey, you're so naive, it's adorable," Maria said. "With my diet, most of these foods are off limits."

"What do you mean I'm naive?" Kat asked, getting another tray and putting it on the cart while the smell of all the fattening food filled her nostrils. "Oh right, you're a strict vegan."

"I mean that, when he was talking about wanting milk, he wasn't talking about the kind that comes from a cow," Maria said, a naughty gleam in her eyes.

"You mean?" Kat blushed as she remembered that, when she got the syrup packets, her breasts were right in front of him. "Isn't that sexual harassment?"

"No, that's a Freudian slip," Maria explained. "And don't pretend that you're not happy about it. I caught the way you were looking at him."

Kat took the plate of chocolate chip buttermilk pancakes and sniffed it, savoring the scent of of melted chocolate combined with sweet buttermilk. It wasn't until what Maria said clicked in her head that Katrina put the plate on the tray and turned her head to Maria, her eyes widening in shock.

"What way?" she asked, feeling another blush on her face.

"That 'oh, Oncie, take me now' look you were giving him," Maria said, putting her hands together in a praying motion and against her chest with a mock dreamy smile.

"If you're going to make fun of me, don't do it while we're at work," Kat said, putting the pancakes on the tray. "And don't call him Oncie."

"I'm just teasing you," Maria said with a friendly laugh. "And why can't I call him Oncie?"

"Just don't," Kat said, putting the tray on the cart. "So, you really think he likes me?"

"Honey, he adores you," Maria reassured her, waving it off with her right hand. "If you don't believe me, ask him out."

At that point, the short-order chef arrived with a cup of hot chocolate that had marshmallows floating at the top, a plate of buttermilk pancakes and a replacement syrup packet. Kat set those items on a tray.

"Okay, I'm going for it," Kat said and took a deep breath.

"Good luck, Kat," Maria said while rolling the tray cart to the customer she was serving.

Kat took the tray to Once-ler's booth.

"Here you go," Kat began. "I know this isn't-,"

"I was hoping-," Once-ler said at the same time Kat did.

She and Once-ler blushed.

"Did you have something to say?"

"No, you go ahead."

"It's all right, you can go first."

Kat saw Maria nearby slapping her face on her hand and walked over as soon as she was finished serving her customer.

"Kat wants to know if you're free this evening for coffee," Maria said to Once-ler.

"Really?!" Once-ler said, like he couldn't believe what was happening then he immediately calmed down and tried his best to appear nonchalant. "I mean, yeah I'm free."

"That's great!" Kat said, wanting to pinch herself to make sure she wasn't dreaming. She wrote directions to a coffee house on her pad, ripped the paper off and handed it to Once-ler. "I know this great place we can meet at and I get off work at 6."

"Sure, that sounds like fun!" Once-ler said, banging his fingers on the table and tapping his foot on the floor.

"Kitty, Maria, this isn't a pick-up bar, get back to work!" Dan yelled loud enough so the whole diner could hear.

Kat didn't know if she was turning red from anger or embarrassment.

"Anyway, I'll see you then," Kat told Once-ler and quickly left while having a fantasy about Dan driving his car off a cliff.

Kat and Maria went back to the kitchen to get a few more orders.

"Why'd you do that?" Katrina asked.

"Do what, ask him out for you?," Maria said, turning in another order to the short order chef. "If I let you two do it on your own, you wouldn't be having your first date until the next millennium."

"It's not a date, just a couple of old friends catching up," Kat said firmly, placing her right hand on her hip.

Maria rolled her eyes.

"When two people meet each other and they have the hots for one another, it's a date," Maria said as another order came in.

"I don't know, it's been a while since we last met," Kat said, deep in thought. "What if we don't like the person the other one's turned into?"

"Then you won't like each other, but at least you'll be happy knowing that you took a risk," Maria said as she delivered another order while Kat walked with her and took an order from a nearby customer.

"Still, I'd feel better if you helped me get ready," Kat said.

Maria laughed.

"Of course I'll help. I wasn't going to make you get ready for your first date all by yourself," Maria said.

Kat blushed.

"Once again, it's not a date," she said. "It's two old friends catching up."

"Once again, it's two old friends who have the hots for each other," Maria said with a devious grin.

Kat nervously laughed.

"Maria!" she said.

"Hey, you're both clearly attracted to one another and you already know that he's not going to chop you to pieces with an axe. Other than your virginity, what have you got to lose?"

Kat blushed.

"I swear, you are the most depraved woman I have ever met," Kat said.

"Don't pretend that you weren't hoping for it."

Maria was right about that. Kat did have a sex drive but never so much as dated in her life. Her only experience was movies, comic books, novels and Maria's stories and the only person that pleasured Kat was herself. Now it was her chance to finally experience the very act that always seemed so amazing and the best part was, every one of her firsts would be with a man she trusted. That was, assuming the chaste kissing and play dates she and Once-ler went on didn't count. There was also a small voice in the back of Kat's mind telling her that she and Once-ler might not like the people they've turned into. Well, if the meeting didn't work out, she could always say that she had her first date with him.

* * *

A/N: I hope I'm doing well with the chemistry between Once-ler and Kat. Read and review, though I'd prefer to latter. Reviews keep me motivated, make me feel like I have business writing this story and they're signs that I should continue writing. I just want to know that I haven't re-posted this story in vain. I also have original fiction posted here that can also qualify as fanfiction, Return of the Greek Gods and Fairy Tale Warriors. If you love this story, be sure to check those out.


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